Coffin-handle



(ModeL) G. C. FRAZIER.

GOFFIN HANDLE.

No. 313,819. Patented Mar. 10, 1885.

u PETERS;Fholo-Liilmgmphor, Washington. D c

Unirren GEORGE G. FRAZIER, OF ALLEGHENY,

ASSIGNOR TO HAMILTON, LEMMON,

ARNOLD & 00., OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

COFFIN HANDLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 313,819, dated March 10, 1885.

Application filed September 6, 1884. (Model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE O. FRAZIER, of the city of Allegheny, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Coffin-Handles; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this speci- IO fication, in which Figure l is a plan "iew showing my improved coffin-handle. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View on the line m 00, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the liney 3 Fig.

1 1. Figs. 4 and 5 are detached views of the ball and socket.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts i Wherever they occur. l

Heretofore it has been customary to attach l bar-handles to the securing-plate or to the side of the coflin or casket by a hinge having a pintle, so that the handle may be raised or lowered, and the plates forming the hinges by which the handle is secured to the side of the casket are so formed as to conform thereto. The objection to this is, however, that where the plate is so formed as to fit on the straight side of the coffin a bar-handle secured to the casket ,at two or more points cannot be employed, owing to the hinge, Where the side or end of the coffin is curved or angular. The object of my invention is to remove thi difficulty and to so hinge the bar-handle that the securing-plate may be placed on the casket parallel to the handle, or at an angle thereto. I will now describe my invention, so that others skilled in the art to which it appertains may manufacture and use the same.

In the drawings, (t represents the usual form 0 of bar-handle, having extending therefrom, either attached thereto or integral therewith, the short arms I) b, at the ends of which arms are balls 0 c, which fit in a socket, d, in theplate 6, forming a universal joint. The upper 5 rear portion of each of these balls is cut away, while the lower rear portion is extended, so that by turning the plate at right angles to its normal position the projecting portion of the ball may be inserted Within the elliptical socket d on a line with its major axis, when by turning the plate to its proper or normal position the ball is prevented from escaping from the socket, and the seat f, formed by the extension on the ball, engages or rests against a depression, 6, in the plate 6 at the upper edge of the socket d, which depression or slot enables the handle to be folded against the casket. The plate 6 at its center around the opening which forms the socket d is raised or elevated, while to the rear face of the plate there is secured a flat plate or back, 9, thus forming the socket for the reception and retention of the ball. In the plate'e are formed screw-holes, i, for securing the plate to the side of the casket. By means of this ball-andsocket joint the plates 6 may be secured to the side of the casket at any desired angle without interfering with the action of the hinge or the position of the banhandle.

Although I have described the form of socket-plate and balls I prefer to employ, I do not desire to limit myself to this particular form or construction, as any other form of balland-socket joint maybe employed in a like manner.

I am aware that single pendent handles, either with or without a transverse bar, are not new, and I do not desire to claim the same; but,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1. As an improvement in coffin-handles,- the combination of a rigid bar, two or more separate securingplates, andtwo or more universal joints connecting the bar to the plates, so that the plates may be secured on the same or different planes Without affecting the position of the bar, substantially as specified.

2. A coffin bar-handle having two or more hinge-balls, said balls having one or more projections formed thereon, in combination with an ellipsoidal socket having a depression at one end thereof, substantially as and for the purpose specified. Y

' In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 25th day of August, A. D. 1884.

GEORGE O. FRAZIER. M

N'Vitnesses:

WV. B. GORWIN, JAMEs K. BAKEWELL. 

